Gladiator: The Great Roman Game Hits the Big Screen!
Gladiator is about a Roman General Maximus, and it begins with him fighting a war for the dying and beloved Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. After Maximus leads the Romans to a triumphant victory against Germania, Marcus Aurelius tells Maximus that he wishes for him to succeed the throne and help the Roman senate transition the empire back to a republic. Marcus Aurelius also shares his wishes with his son Commodus. Commodus, angered and jealous that he would not be the emperor, kills his father and orders Maximus to be killed as well. Maximus escapes the soldiers that were ordered to kill him and then rides home to see his wife and son having been murdered also by Commodus’ orders.
Maximus is then captured and sold as a slave and referred to as the Spaniard, being that his true identity is unknown. He is trained as a gladiator and eventually is taken to Rome to compete in the coliseum. Maximus’ owner teaches him to win the crowd by entertaining them, and he successfully achieves this in his first match in the coliseum. After the game, Maximus’ identity is revealed, and the new emperor, Commodus, knows he is alive. Another person who is shocked to see Maximus alive is Commodus’ sister, Lucilla. She has a romantic past with Maximus.
At this time, many characters in the film have negative feelings towards Commodus: the Roman senators are angry with dictatorial ways in which Commodus is leading Rome, specifically Gracchus, Lucilla lives in fear of her brother, and Maximus is looking to seek revenge on Commodus for the death of his family. As Maximus continues to compete in gladiator games with Commodus stacking the odds against him, Maximus, Lucilla, and Gracchus create a plan to overthrow Commodus. Through Lucilla’s son Lucius, Commodus learns of the organized coup. He thwarts it by sending Gracchus to prison, threatening Lucilla with her son’s death, and imprisoning Maximus after stopping his escape.
In the final scene, Commodus plans to fight Maximus in the arena only after he stabs him in the back to gain an advantage. Even after sustaining the injury, Maximus prevails over Commodus and kills him. Although Maximus is victorious, the stab wound is too much to overcome. Maximus tells the senators to take back Rome and make it a republic as it was Marcus Aurelius’ dying wish, and then Maximus dies too.
I enjoyed watching this film, and although it is historical fiction, it was fascinating to see many of the things we have learned about in class on the screen. One detail that stood out was Maximus’s SPQR tattoo, standing for Senatus Populusque Romanus, which means the Senate and the Roman People. It was also interesting to see the gladiator game come to life, including its effects on the fans and how Maximus’ success was so inspiring to them. Additionally, as we are soon heading into “the game,” it was intriguing to see the differing viewpoints of Rome as an empire and a republic.
